ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Hannah Wentworth reached the 1000 career point milestone as the Eckerd women's basketball team topped Florida Southern, 73-65, in the Sunshine State Conference Tournament Semifinals at the McArthur Center on Thursday to reach the SSC Championship on Sunday.
The teams faced a slow start to the game as neither team was able to find an offensive groove early, as Eckerd took an 11-10 edge to end the first. Seven straight points by Lauryn Vieira midway through the second period gave Eckerd an eight-point lead. EC pushed in front by 11 before taking a 30-22 favor at intermission.
A 9-2 run to open the second half gave the Tritons a 15-point favor. Eckerd maintained a double-digit lead until the Mocs closed the frame with eight straight points as EC held a 51-45 favor heading to the fourth. The Mocs cut their deficit to five, but Eckerd soon pushed back out to 11. FSC went on a late 8-2 run to pull within four with 58 seconds left, but Eckerd made its free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
HOW IT ENDED
FINAL: Eckerd 73, Florida Southern 65
RECORDS: Eckerd 18-11; Florida Southern 16-13
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Lauryn Vieira led the team with 29 points. Hannah Wentworth (14) and Martyna Kowalska (10) rounded out the double-figure scorers.
- With her sixth point of the game, Wentworth reached the 1000 career point milestone between her time at Eckerd and Eastern Utah State.
- Jessie Ford led Eckerd with 10 boards, while Vieira added eight.
- Vieira added three steals as well.
- Eckerd advanced to the SSC Tournament Championship for the first time since 2020, when Eckerd also played for the title in Tampa. That year, Eckerd won the Championship, topping the Spartans 75-69.
- Eckerd is set to make its fourth SSC Tournament Championship appearance.
UP NEXT
Eckerd travels to Tampa on Sunday for the Championship game at 1:00 PM against the No. 2 seed Spartans.
